Lisa Gillespie

Lisa Gillespie, Web reporter, reports on Medicare and Medicaid federal and state policies, and was most recently a reporter with Washington-based Inside Health Policy. She has also reported on the dietary supplement and over-the-counter drug industries and employer-based health care benefits. Her work has appeared in Forbes, Learnvest.com, The Tan Sheet, Employee Benefit News.

The Missouri Hospital Association objects to the formula for setting the federal penalties because it does not factor in the number of patients who are poor or in bad health. It is seeking to generate consumer interest in the penalties.

About 300,000 Hispanic children gained insurance in 2014 from 2013, dropping the number of uninsured to 1.7 million, researchers said, and two-thirds of 1.7 million uninsured Hispanic kids live in five states.

Spending for high-priced specialty drugs for diseases such as cancer, HIV and hepatitis C is expected to rise dramatically next year, and large companies hope to put controls in place to help keep their costs down, according to a new survey.

Incentives advanced by state-based health reforms and the federal health law have created new opportunities for nonprofit organizations like Boom!Health, says Robert Cordero, the integrated clinic’s ougoing president.

Dr. Maria Carrillo tells KHN that in addition to finding ways to screen for the disease and treat it, public health officials need to think about increasing the number of skilled nursing homes and home health aides.